Yeah, from what I understand the name "McGalliard" was too hard to pronounce for the Japanese public. Thus, McGalliard was called "Bucky Harris," not to be confused with former HOF manager and Washington Senators second baseman Bucky Harris.

I met George (Kazuyoshi) Matsuura's son in LA a few years ago. He mentioned that Harrison (aka Bucky Harris) McGalliard, Herb North, and Jimmy Bonna played in Japan in 1936. Most of these guys were scouted from the LA Nippons amateur team. McGalliard's daughter confirms this.

This info and more can be found in the Japanese Baseball Encyclopedia. Yes, Wakabayashi was in Japan prior to 1936.

George Matsuura's son showed me pictures of the happy times the players had in Japan. Most striking were the photos of their sad ship-side departures in 1939 as "war drums" were getting louder. The Japanese-American players had to decide to stay or leave while the other American players had no choice.

Hi, just wanted to add a brief clarification to this old thread. Harrison McGalliard was actually Andrew "Bucky" Harris McGalliard and he was one of eight Americans to join the new professional Japanese league in 1936. Fumito "Jimmy" Horio had joined the professional Dai Nippon Tokyo Yakyu Kurabu (Tokyo Giants) which was founded in December of 1934 and toured in 1935 before the founding of the league in 1936. Bucky (the first Caucasian American) had a successful career, staying through the 1938 seasons.

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